


far better things ahead

by iaddedarainbow



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: F/M, M/M, Original Character(s), denied Derek/Stiles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-01
Updated: 2013-01-01
Packaged: 2017-11-24 06:19:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,394
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/631374
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iaddedarainbow/pseuds/iaddedarainbow
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Derek moved on with his life.</p>
            </blockquote>





	far better things ahead

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [but not with Derek](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/15485) by DevilDoll. 



> I wrote something else first in response, and then my fingers vomited this out. Am posting it without beta, so any mistakes are mine. I come from the Derek Hale Deserves Nice Things school of thought, and I admit that this is completely self-indulgent.Title is from C.S. Lewis: "There are far better things ahead than any we leave behind."

**10 years later**

"You've been a really great friend through all of this, Derek," Stiles says. "We really couldn't have planned this without you." 

Stiles goes for a one-arm hug, but Derek's feeling affectionate and pulls him in for a proper one.

"It's the least I could do," he says, and remembers not to squeeze too hard this time. It's often too easy to forget that Stiles is human. He lives with a werewolf and is constantly surrounded by the supernatural, and it's become so integral to his scent that Derek needs to remind himself now and again.

"Oh man, I forgot how awesome your hugs are," Stiles says with a smile when Derek pulls away. His eyes are bright. Must have had too much to drink, not that anyone would begrudge him that, not tonight. "Part of me wishes it had worked out between us, back then, if only for the hugs."

Derek rocks back on his heels, thinks back to when the two of them were a possibility, to the chalkboard that Stiles gave him. He wonders, briefly, what had happened to it. He was so bitter and disappointed back then, in the self-deprecating way that he had mastered, that it wouldn't surprise Derek if it was still in his attic, or his storage locker, somewhere.

"It was such a long time ago," Derek says. He looks towards Piper and Jaden terrorizing the bridal party. They look exactly like Sandy, but every time Derek looks at them all he can see are the small traces of Laura and his mother; when they giggle or frown, how they push their hair behind their ear, in the way they interact with the world. "I wouldn't trade them for anything." 

It's the truth, and it leaves a bittersweet taste in the back of his mouth. He wishes his mom and dad were here to see his kids grow up, that Laura were here to teach them how to be leaders, and sometimes he wishes Peter were here, too. They should all be here right now, seeing the family grow again, but he knows you can't have one without the other. 

Stiles follows the direction of his gaze, smiling when he sees the girls. He says, "I know," and his smile has grown into a grin by the time they look back at each other. Derek feels an answering smile blooming on his own face. 

"Stop flirting you two," Sandy says suddenly, appearing in front of them, and Derek leans into her space to kiss the corner of her smirk, proprietary. Turning to Stiles, she asks: "Are you done with him? He needs to help corral the rest of his litter before they ruin your lovely rehearsal dinner."

"My litter?" Derek asks. He puts his arm around her shoulder and pulls her towards him, moves her blonde hair out of the way and buries his face in her neck. He breathes in deep.

"My children are perfect and well-behaved, and more importantly sleeping in the guest bedroom with the tv on," she answers, and he doesn't have to see her to know there's a cheeky grin on her face. 

Also, Stiles is chuckling, and that's always a telling sign. 

"I don't know why you're laughing," Derek says, shifting so he can peek at Stiles. "You're going to have kids one day, and they'll be just like you."

Stiles' horrified expression and his soft " _oh god no_ " makes Sandy burst out in laughter, head falling backwards with the force of it. He loves it when she laughs, it's like her face was made for it, and it helps remind Derek that his was too.

"Can I have my fiancé back, now?" Danny says from behind them. "I believe he owes me a dance."

"Baby," Stiles says, turning to him with panic still written in the lines of his face. "Let's never have kids."

The look on his face, a mix between dismay and amusement, is priceless, and Derek snorts into Sandy's neck while she laughs again.

Danny gives them a dirty look. "The two of you are a terrible influence," he says. 

Derek shrugs, stepping back from Sandy and giving her back her space. "Just get a puppy," he suggests. Puppies are better than kids, anyway, they don't talk back.

Stiles and Danny groan theatrically. 

"We're surrounded by werewolves," Stiles says, his raised eyebrow saying everything he's not vocalizing about Derek's lack of intelligence.

"And if we have to house-train another dog I will go nuts," Danny adds.

"Speaking of dogs," Sandy says cheerfully. "I have to go find Brandon."

Derek raises an eyebrow at her. "I thought he was perfect and well-behaved?" he asks, mocking, just a little.

She rolls her eyes at him. "And no longer in the guest bedroom," she says matter-of-factly. "Which disqualifies him from being my child."

"It's only a matter of time before he destroys something," Danny tells them, laughing.

Sandy groans, crinkling her nose in distaste. "Don't remind me," she says, and pecks Derek on the cheek before starting her hunt. He watches her walk away, doesn't even try to be subtle.

"You're so lucky your kids are cute," Stiles says into the silence. He turns to Danny. "What if our kids are ugly? Or little shits like Derek's? What if they're ugly terrors, Danny, what'll we do?"

Danny shuts him up with a kiss, thorough and deep. "You owe me a dance," he says when he pulls back and mouths _terrible influence_ at Derek before he starts dragging a dazed Stiles to the makeshift dance floor, and he can only respond with amusement. The dj puts on a slow song the moment Stiles and Danny wrap their arms around each other, and it's terribly romantic. He knows Sandy's happy, but maybe they should have had a proper wedding instead of hastily eloping.

Derek, suddenly, wishes it were him out there, and he thinks about what Stiles said about the two of them working out. He tries to imagine that world, what it could be like, but it feels pointless. An exercise in futility, like wishing his dead family were still alive. He shrugs the feeling off and goes find Sandy.

\--

A few days later Derek's in the basement looking for the lost bike rack when he finds it. 

The chalkboard is wrapped in cardboard paper, like a painting, which might explain why it's down here with the rest of the shit they were going to organize but never did. What's surprising isn't that he still has it, he used to be so willfully miserable that he'd be more surprised if he didn't, but that the chalk lines are as perfectly preserved as they are.

He props it up on a box and stares at it. It makes him feel strangely nostalgic, and Derek wipes away a line with his thumb. Then another, and another, and another, until they're all gone and all that's left of Stiles' promise is the chalk on Derek's hands.

He hangs the chalkboard up in the kitchen. The kids love to draw on it, and Sandy uses it to write out the grocery list or dinner ideas. Stiles' eyes linger on it a beat too long when he sees it one night, and then he sends Derek a _look_ , something complicated and a little melancholy, and Derek watches him until it transforms into fondness.

"It's a good idea," Stiles says about it, touches a corner with his ring finger. "The best kind of recycling."

Derek smiles. "It was a good idea," he agrees, handing Stiles a piece of bright pink chalk. 

Stiles rolls his eyes at the chalk, but there's a smile on his face like he knows that Derek's not talking about repurposing school supplies.

"It was," he says.

There's a truth that Derek's just learning, and it's this: he'll never be done loving Stiles. Derek's also learned that love can mean so many different things, and he's finally found the kind of happiness that his life was missing before, in Sandy and his kids. He's so incredibly happy with the way his life is turning out. Maybe there's another world out there where Derek and Stiles are together, where they kiss and make love and spend the rest of their lives in joy, but it's not this one.

Derek likes this world better.


End file.
